Titan might seem an unlikely place to for humans to build settlements, and maybe eventually colonize. After all, it is so far from the sun, and extraordinarily cold, and it's a long journey to get there (at present). But actually, if you set aside the difficulty of getting there, which we should overcome as our technology improves—it's got more going for it than you might think. posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:55 PM PST - 17 comments

Freedom of Information requests are a fantastic tool for citizens and journalists alike, but they're also a favourite with people who have an axe to grind. When 'James' demanded to know why he had to pay for Adult Social Services and the Fire Brigade though, he probably didn't expect so blunt an answer from South Somerset District Council. posted by garius at 3:52 PM PST - 32 comments

Anecdotes about any particular diet’s efficacy are often trumpeted by highly motivated individuals in which the diet may align with their personal ideologies. But when thinking about health and nutrition in a scientific way, how should we internalize them?

So yeah. Nectome is a preserve-your-brain-and-upload-it company. Its chemical solution can keep a body intact for hundreds of years, maybe thousands, as a statue of frozen glass. The idea is that someday in the future scientists will scan your bricked brain and turn it into a computer simulation. That way, someone a lot like you, though not exactly you, will smell the flowers again in a data server somewhere.

Rock Hudson walked out of the premiere, Hal was originally a cockney, and Stanley Kubrick used one of the model spaceships to pay his daughter’s tutor … the makers of the sci-fi classic share their memories. By Phil Hoad for The Guardian. posted by valkane at 8:50 AM PST - 31 comments

Introducing... Jetpack Cat. [YouTube] “Jetpack Cat isn’t an official Overwatch hero (yet), but this faux-hero-introduction video from To Binge does a great job of illustrating why the scrapped idea turned incessant in-joke would be perfect for the job. Here is conceptart of legendary scrapped Overwatch hero, Jetpack Cat. During a BlizzCon panel about Overwatch’s formative days, game director Jeff Kaplan and art director Arnold Tsang talked more about his origins, saying that they were trying to figure out how far was too far with regards to character designs. “We tried a robot monkey. We tried a crocodile!” said Tsang. That led to Jetpack Cat, who—despite being one of the most popular early hero designs at Blizzard—was scrapped because, Kaplan explained, it was “not Overwatch at this point.” A gorilla scientist from the moon, however, was fine.” [via: Kotaku]posted by Fizz at 6:37 AM PST - 17 comments

Always Human, by Ari Walkingnorth: In a future Australia, where body modification mods are ubiquitous, Sunati is fascinated by a woman she sees at the train station, who apparently has no mods at all. An offer of an anti-allergy mod simply upsets the woman, and causes her to leave. In a second meeting, the woman, Austen, explains over a cup of coffee; she has an overactive immune system, meaning she can't use mods at all. Day to day things that are simple for everyone else, like enhanced memory or changing her features, are frustratingly difficult or impossible for her. On impulse, Sunati asks her out, and despite her reservations about Sunati’s motives, Austen agrees... [more inside]posted by happyroach at 12:30 AM PST - 22 comments

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